It is sometimes desirable to combine a toothbrush and a toothpaste dispenser in the same article. Such a combination is ideal for travelers who generally desire to pack as few items as possible. Additionally, such a combination may be attractive for children, encouraging them to brush their teeth more often.
It is known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat No. 4,787,765, to incorporate a pump which uses a reciprocating action between a toothbrush and an integrated toothpaste dispenser to dispense toothpaste from the dispenser onto the free ends of the bristles. As a user pushes the toothbrush head into the dispenser, toothpaste is pumped from the dispenser through a nozzle and onto the bristles. U.S. Pat No. 5,096,321 discloses a combination toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser which incorporates a pump on the dispenser to pump toothpaste through a hollow cavity within the toothbrush to distribute toothpaste to the bristles. One drawback to these inventions is that the mechanisms required to pump the toothpaste are relatively complex and costly to manufacture.
It would be beneficial to provide a combination toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser which dispenses the toothpaste to the bristles through a hollow cavity within the toothbrush by means of a reciprocating pumping action of the toothbrush with respect to the toothpaste dispenser which incorporates a relatively simple operating mechanism and is inexpensive to manufacture.